The record may indicate that the Grant County High School girls' basketball team finished the season with a 9-18 record, but coach Darrell Guffey viewed his first season as a success, especially when one considers all the Lady Braves endured this season.

"We rode a roller-coaster all season long, and at times, it was a very tough ride," Guffey said.

The "roller-coaster ride" began early in the season as injuries and illness decimated Grant County and continued when junior point guard Candace Gorby was lost for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Oftentimes this season, Williamstown High School girls' basketball player Tori Wilhoit was among the smallest players on the court.

However, when the basketball came off the rim, it was usually Wilhoit, who is 5-feet-6-inches tall, coming down with the rebound, making the accomplishment something she not only is earning a reputation for, but she is also rewriting the history books.

Wilhoit surpassed the old school record for career rebounds, which was 629, this season.

When the season began, the Williamstown High School girls' basketball team had three goals: win 10 games, win the All "A" Tournament and advance to the region tournament.

While they were unable to accomplish all three goals, coach Mark Wilhoit said the season featured several high points for the Lady Demons, whose season came to an end last week following a 73-38 loss to Simon Kenton in the first round of the 32nd District Tournament.

Opening Day for baseball season is March 31 for Cincinnati Reds fans, and while the sport has already been hammered recently about whether or not two of the game's greatest players took steroids, none of that seems to matter to die-hard fans, including me.

Each time Williamstown junior girls' basketball player Jaclyn Stith scores a basket, she recalls all the people who told her as an eighth grader that she couldn't play on the varsity team and uses her points as a way to quiet her critics.

That determination is just one reason why Stith was named the Grant County News All-County Miss Basketball. The selection was based on coaches' nominations and stats.

"Nobody believed I could ever do it, and I try to prove them wrong each time I play," said Stith, who averaged 16 points per game this season.

The River City Rascals do not play the Florence Freedom until August, but odds are good that the stadium will be packed. Not so much because of the two teams who will be playing, but rather because of a certain player.

Former Williamstown High School and Berea College standout Ryan Wilson recently signed a contract with the Rascals, who are members of the Frontier League and are are based out of O'Fallon, Mo.

The Frontier League is comprised of independent professional baseball teams.

For the Guffey family, basketball is their life. Darrell and Sonia Guffey may be husband and wife, but their bond went much deeper this season as the two shared the bench during the Grant County High School girls' basketball season.

Darrell served as the varsity coach, while Sonia was the junior varsity coach and varsity assistant. It marked the first time that the two had coached the same team together.

And the move proved to be a successful one, as both guided the Lady Braves to a 9-18 season in their first year at Grant County High School.

In a game of runs and will, the Walton-Verona High School girls' basketball team came up with the runs when it mattered and imposed its will on the Grant County High School girls' basketball team, earning a 63-53 win over the Lady Braves Tuesday in the first round of the 32nd District Tournament at GCHS.

Holding onto a slim 45-43 advantage, Walton-Verona turned to their top player, senior guard Lauren Hargett and senior center Ashley Bowling to carry the Lady Bearcats to their third victory over Grant County this season.